Discussions at the City of Ville Platte’s council meeting on Tuesday centered mostly around the mayor and council’s effort to clean up abandoned or condemned properties around the city.
One property owner, who received a letter from the city stating that a home on her property had been condemned, addressed the council regarding its mandate that she remove the structure from her property located on South Soileau Street next to L and V Store.
Property owner Monica Vidrine Ardoin expressed frustration during the meeting over this matter, stating that she didn’t feel tearing down the house would stop the criminal activity taking place in this area. She also stated that although she understands that “the home on the property is not in the best shape,” her and her husband “keep the grass cut and pick up five to six bags of trash” every time they go to take care of the yard.
During this discussion, Mayor Jennifer Vidrine said, “The city will not be patient anymore when it comes to cleaning up abandoned properties.”
Mayor Vidrine also shared that there are five houses within the city that workers will begin demolishing on April 16, 2018, due to the fact that it had not been done by the property owners, who were given 30 days to take care of the problem. According to the mayor, a total of 50 houses have been torn down so far. She also stated that the city will hire a contractor to tear down the homes that the city workers are unable to remove.
As it relates to the criminal activity Ardoin spoke about, Ville Platte Chief of Police Neal Lartigue shared that a camera has been placed in that area to catch any illegal activity that may transpire.
Following this topic of discussion, Ardoin said that she would have the home removed.
During the meeting, Arthur Sampson also addressed the mayor and council requesting that April 23rd be proclaimed Kathy Weston Stop the Violence day in honor of Weston, who was an innocent bystander killed on April 23, 2017 in a shooting that occurred in Ville Platte.
The council approved Sampson’s request, and the mayor will present a proclamation to Weston’s family during a Stop the Violence march that will be held in Weston’s honor on Monday, April 23, 2018 at 6:00 p.m.
The march will begin at the MLK Park and end where Weston was shot at the corner of Chataignier and Jackson streets.
Closing out the meeting was the city’s engineer, Ronnie Landreneau, who informed the mayor and council that Phase 3 of the water project is complete. The next step of this process, Landreneau shared, will consist of repairing the intersections where work on the city’s water lines was done.
Landreneau also stated that they are “finalizing the plan for Phase 4 of the project.” He said that he anticipates Phase 4 will begin sometime around the middle of the summer.
Phase 4 will consist of fixing the water lines on Main Street, LaSalle St., and a few streets that tie into Main and LaSalle.
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ELIZABETH WEST